Overview
- In early June 2026 archaeologists were working in an open pit on Notre Dame’s forecourt, excavating about four metres of tightly stacked deposits that record roughly 2,000 years of occupation.
- Teams have exposed medieval cellars, Merovingian and Carolingian pits and a dense Roman quarter while recovering hundreds of artefacts including a 4th‑century coin with Emperor Constantine’s image and medieval pottery with undeciphered reddish markings.
- Many of the best preserved items came from ancient latrine and rubbish pits where whole jugs and cups survived, and every object is being sent to Paris’s municipal archaeology centre for cleaning, study and cataloguing.
- The city’s planned forecourt makeover — a shaded square with 160 trees and cooling water features targeted largely finished by 2028 — is on hold at this location while archaeologists clear and record the site.
- Archaeologists hope to dig deeper toward pre‑Roman layers that could reach Gaulish occupation, a work that could reshape understanding of the Île de la Cité and feed future displays or research projects.